


Her Little Pink Shoe

by OceanSpray5



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 08:43:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6797128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanSpray5/pseuds/OceanSpray5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cute little story about the first time Haku and Chihiro met which leaves Haku with some unanswered questions about why he is so intrigued by a human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Little Pink Shoe

**Author's Note:**

> So here it is, my very first SA fic. I just had this headcanon that Haku was always physically close to Chihiro’s age, *cough* what with them being soulmates and all *cough*, so here is a cutesy fic in which baby Chihiro falls into the Kohaku River and a baby Haku is extremely confused about it.

Nigahiyami Kohaku Nushi, the spirit of the great Kohaku River was confused. He wasn’t a stranger to people and things falling into his currents. The Kohaku River was, after all, a recreational area of sorts. Many humans came and went and sometimes even polluted his waters. He didn’t like it but it was the way how things were.

On this particular day not many people had come to visit. The only family close to his banks were of three people. A young man and woman with their tiny daughter. Physically she looked to be about his age. Perhaps a year or two younger. Humans aged differently from spirits. 

He didn’t understand why this family intrigued him so. Maybe because not much was happening today ? Because none of his older siblings, also spirits of nearby nature beings weren’t coming to visit him yet ? Because it was safe enough to come out without being spotted by the humans. One family wasn’t too big of a threat was it ?

The young dragon, who looked to humans as not more than a boy 7 years of age, peered from behind a bush while still halfway submerged in water. The family settled down by a tree not to far away. The mother began to read while the father set his hat on top of his head and began to nap. Having decided the adults were boring he turned his attention to their daughter.

She was a lovely little girl. She had chestnut locks tied at the back of her head in a pony tail. Her brown eyes sparkled as she excitedly chased after the butterflies and shrieked every time river spray hit her. It amused the river spirit who found himself gently letting his water’s mist go over the banks near her just to see her laugh.

At first she seemed to be scared of coming too close to the river. He didn’t understand why. He would never hurt her. Eventually she inched nearer and nearer to the cold river. Her brown eyes curiously peered over the edge and she gave a small shriek which startled the river spirit immensely. 

“Fishies !”

Seeing her delight on discovering the aquatic creatures young Kohaku sent some of his friends to entertain her. He wouldn’t have done that for anyone else. It puzzled him why he was doing this for her. There was no explanation he could come up with. It just felt like the right thing to do.

Eventually she sat down. Her legs swung up and down as her little pink shoes hit the water. She didn’t seem to realize her right shoe was slipping off. A small yell cut through the air as the young river spirit snapped his head to look at the little girl.

“My shoe !”

She was leaning forward as she tried to grab her little pink shoe. Fear was etched on her cherub face and with a terrified scream she plunged headfirst into the cold water. 

The young dragon immedietly dove into the river again. It was instinct. He felt himself elongate as he transformed into his dragon form. He wasn’t a particularly big dragon quite yet. His older sister, the spirit of this forest, told him he’d grow. Right now he was only around five feet.

His keen grey-green eyes sought out the little girl who was struggling to hold her breath while her alarmed expression showed she wanted to scream. Kohaku rushed underneath her. He felt soft hands grab his two horns and she stopped squirming. She couldn’t breath properly but she wouldn’t drown. The river spirit rushed her to shore where she began violently coughing and even gave a few small sneezes. 

Her parents were yelling for her as they rushed to her. Just before they made it she reached out and gently pressed her palm against the little dragon’s muzzle.

“Thank You.”

The adults were coming closer. He couldn’t let himself be seen so he immedietly dived back into the water after pressing his muzzle against her outstretched hand to show he understood her. She stared at him even when her parents came up to her. They hugged her and looked her over for injuries.

“Never scare us like that again.”

“Sweetie we told you not to go close to the water.”

“Come on Chihiro. Let’s dry you off.”

Chihiro. So that was her name. It was a pretty name. He liked it. It suited her. Now back in his human form he again peered across as Chihiro’s parent’s held her close as they made their way back to their blue car.

She was excitedly telling them about how he had saved her. Looking over her mother’s shoulder she gave an enthusiastic wave.

“THANK YOU !”

Kohaku couldn’t help the smile that slid across his lips. The little human girl and her parents left but for some reason, the young spirit felt alive. He still didn’t understand why he was so intrigued by her. His sisters and brother had only laughed when he recounted the tale. They had pinched his cheeks and shared knowing looks. At times like this he wished he was as old and wise as they were. Being out of the loop wasn’t fun but even spirits had to wait to learn things. His siblings had said he’d learn with time.

Time wasn’t exactly kind to him or his siblings. He was separated from them for years after loosing his identity. But when he saw a young girl with chestnut locks and brown orbs staring down at the train, eyes filled with a wonder that he recalled seeing before. He couldn’t help but give a quiet gasp and tell her to run. He didn’t remember himself, his family or where he came from. But seeing her let one thing slip past the locks on his memory. A memory that would unlock all others for him. A name and a blurred incident involving a little pink shoe.

_Chihiro_

**Author's Note:**

> TA DA !
> 
> So….how was it. I tried my best to make Haku rather naive as compared to other spirits. In this HC he’s a few centuries older than Chihiro but still relatively young as compared to other spirits. 
> 
> Also, I love the idea of Haku’s siblings being other nature spirits. They obviously figured out why Haku was so intrigued by Chihiro but he was too young and oblivious to.


End file.
